Swinburne to unveil the Hidden Universe

August 6th, 2012
A 3D simulation of the evolution of the Universe is being produced as a giant-screen film in a unique partnership between Swinburne University of Technology and December Media.
Swinburne's Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing (CAS) is using the university's ‘Green Machine' supercomputer to turn new data into a 3D simulation. Meanwhile, December Media producer Stephen Amezdroz will shoot live action scenes in some of the highest, driest and remotest places on the planet.

Russell Scott of Swinburne 3D Astronomy Productions at the CAS will direct the film.

"This is a big bold venture by our 3D Astronomy Productions team that showcases Swinburne's ability to undertake ground-breaking work in collaboration with external partners," CAS Director Professor Warrick Couch said.

"It is a very exciting step forward in linking us to a wider, global community and exciting them about their place in the Universe."

The $8.6 million film supported by Film Victoria will be distributed by MacGillivray Freeman Films, the world's largest distributor of IMAX films.

"We're making a film about what lies within the gaze of the new generation of telescopes," Mr Amezdroz said.

"Hidden Universe will reveal as never before the incredible links between our own nature and the rest of the Universe and the possibility of life on other planets - giving audiences a dramatic new view of the cosmos."

With production taking place in July and August in Chile and Australia, the Australia-based filmmakers will employ computer-generated imagery, remastered telescopic images and cutting edge new data to create simulations of the cosmos and its beginnings.

From imagery obtained from telescopes such as Hubble, the VLT (Very Large Telescope) and ALMA Telescope in Chile, they will create 3D giant-screen images of celestial structures such as the Whirlpool Galaxy, Crab Nebula and many others. The film will also visualise for audiences what telescopes ‘see' in multi-wavelength revealing previously unseen forms such as pulsars and stellar nurseries.

Hidden Universe is due for release in 2013.

Provided by Swinburne University of Technology

This Phys.org Science News Wire page contains a press release issued by an organization mentioned above and is provided to you “as is” with little or no review from Phys.Org staff.

More news stories

The new consoles from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony

Microsoft is the last of the three big video game console makers to unveil its latest gaming system. Tuesday's unveiling comes nearly eight years after the Xbox 360 went on sale. It follows last fall's de ...

Expectations high for next Xbox

It's almost time for a new Xbox. Eight years have passed since Microsoft unveiled the Xbox 360, double the amount of time between the original Xbox debut in 2001 and its high-definition successor's launch ...

Congress gets mixed advice on regulating drones

(AP)—The growing use of unmanned surveillance "eyes in the sky" aircraft raises a thicket of privacy concerns, but the U.S. Congress is getting mixed advice on what, if anything, to do about it.

Study says empathy plays a key role in moral judgments

Is it permissible to harm one to save many? Those who tend to say "yes" when faced with this classic dilemma are likely to be deficient in a specific kind of empathy, according to a report published in the scientific journal ...

Australia set to cull 10,000 wild horses

A controversial cull of up to 10,000 wild horses in Australia's harsh Outback reportedly began Wednesday in a bid to control the feral animals which officials say are destroying the land.